Bioaccumulation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Concentration in Biota from the Niger Delta, South- South, Nigeria

One of the most valued biota in the Niger Delta is Penaeusmonodon (shrimp) because of the nutritive and economic benefits to the people. This organism is known to accumulate pollutants like PAHs to a great extent. The determination of PAHs concentration in Penaeusmonodon was carried out first by extraction using soxhlet extractor with dichloromethane while the Gas Chromatography equipped with Flame Ionization Detector was used to determine the concentrations of PAHs in the extract. The bioaccumulation factor was calculated from the ratio of concentration of PAHs in the Penaeusmonodon to that in water which was found to vary from 78.6 to 93.8 on a dry weight basis. Also, the results of the concentration of individual PAHs in the biota ranged between 0.943mg/kg and 2.347mg/kg (dry wt.). From the results of the investigation, it was noticed that Penaeusmonodon bioaccumulated PAHs to high levels and the concentration of individual PAHs in the organism when compared to the national and international recommended limits, was also high, an indication that the consumption of this organism portends health risk. It is therefore the opinion of this research that the consumption of this organism from the environment be stopped forthwith pending when a remediation programme is carried out.